Bar or slide for playing certain musical instruments



y 1948' J. MILLER 2,441,713

BAR O R SLIDE FOR PLAYING CERTAIN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed June 14, 1946 Patented May 18, 1948 ZAdlJH BAR OR SLIDE FOR PLAYING CERTAIN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Jules Miller, Atlantic City, N. J. Application June 14, 1946, Serial No. 676,723

6 Claims. 1

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in what is known as slides or bars that are used by musicians when playing the Hawaiian steel guitar.

As is well known'to musicians and others, when playing the guitar the way the Hawaiians play it, rather than pressing the strings with the fingers against the frets, the player whil plucking the strings with one hand uses a small steel bar in the other hand and slides the bar up and down a string to thus provide a wailing note or notes, so that the pitch is changed gradually rather than producing a definite note which is produced when the strings are pressed in the ordinary manner.

As is also well known, these slides or steel bars are relatively heavy, and the musicians fingers may soon tire. Also, some musicians fingers are not as strong as the fingers of other musicians,

One of the objects, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a bar for playing the steel guitar and other similar instruments whereby the weight of the bar may be varied to suit the individual musician.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a bar which includes what might be termed the handle, to which is removably fastened a hollow bar or, more accurately, a hollow tube or cylinder which is closed at both ends but open at its top so that lead shot or other small pieces of metal may be placed within the cylinder until the desired weight is obtained, after which cotton or steel wool or fabric may be stuiied into the bar over the shot so that the bar and its handle is of a weight that may be more easily handled by the musician than the ordinary heavy steel bars now in use With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain new and novel arrangements and combination of parts as will be hereafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring now to the drawings, showing a preferred embodiment,

Fig. 1 is aside elevational view of my improved slide bar,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the handle, and

Fig, 4 is a perspective of the cylinder which is to be attached to the handle.

Referring now more particularly to the several views and, for the moment, to Fig. 1, there is shown the handle member I, which is preferably formed or molded from plastic and substantially rectangular in cross-section. Also, its

lower side edges 2 curve slightly inwardly to form what might be termed spring fingers or retaining means. There is also provided a steel'member in the shape of a cylinder 3, having closed ends 4, which are hemispherical in outline as it Y is with these ends of the bar that the strings are pressed so that the pitch of the string changes as the bar is moved up and down the finger board. By having the ends hemispherical, or, in other words, reduced in diameter, one string can be touched without the bar touching the adjacent string.

This cylinder 3 is preferably formed of stamped steel and highly burnished, is hollow, and is cut out along its upper surface as at 5, The side walls are each turned outwardly to form what might also be termed cooperating spring fingers 6, that are to be tightly engaged by the spring fingers 2 of the handle piece I.

Thus, to apply the bar to the handle piece I, the handle piece I may be held in the one hand and the tubular member 3 in the other hand, and the fingers placed in registry; and then interfitted so that the handle I and cylinder 3 assume the position shown in Fig. 1.

However, before being inter-fitted, the cylinder 3 is to be filled or partially filled, preferably with small lead shot I, or any other desired weighty medium, after which cotton 8, steel wool or other material may be stuffed within the cylinder 3 over the shot I and packed in so that the shot I will not rattle or move around in the cylinder 3.

In this way the musician can determine and change the weight of the bar or slide to suit his particular needs or fancy. If he finds that its too heavy with the amount of shot l he has put in, its an easy matter to withdraw the cotton 8, empty some of the shot 1 out, and then pack in more cotton 8 to thus make the bar lighter. After the desired weight is determined, it will not be necessary to again separate the bar or handle throughout the life of the bar. However, should the bar rust or should the handle crack, a new part can be quickly substituted.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a bar or slide to be used in playing the guitar or banjo or mandolin, wherein the weight of the bar may be readily changed to accommodate the user.

Many slight changes might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I 3 claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A slide bar for playing an Hawaiian guitar and the like, including a handle, a removable cylinder with rounded ends, and the cylinder provided with an opening to receive a filler to thereby add weight to the slide bar.

2. A slide bar for playing an Hawaiian guitar and the like, including a handle, a hollow cylinder having an opening therein, cooperating means on the handle and on the cylinder for removably holding the parts together, and the cylinder adapted to be loaded with a desired amount of weighty material to thereby regulate the weigh of the slide bar.

3. A slide bar for playing an Hawaiian guitar and the like, including a handle, a hollow cylin'-' der rounded at its ends and having an opening in 7 its upper surface, cooperating means on the handle and on the cylinder for removably holding the parts together, and a removable weight in the cylinder.

4. A slide bar for playing an Hawaiian guitar and the like, including a handle, a hollow cylinder rounded at its ends and having an opening in its upper surface, cooperating means on the handle and on the cylinder for removably holding the parts together, the cylinder being weighted, and means also in the cylinder for preventing movement of the weight with relation to the cylinder the lead shot for holding the shot in place.

6. A slide bar for playing an Hawaiian guitar and the like, including a plastic handle, a hollow metal cylinder having rounded ends and an opening in one of its surfaces, spring fingers along the lower edges of the handle and cooperating spring fingers on the cylinder to thereby hold the parts together,-and the cylinder adapted to be weighted by filling or partly filling the same with a material of a relatively heavy specific gravity.

JULES MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,342,718 Neit June 8, 1920 1,601,429 Carpenter Sept. 28, 1926 

